Attachment for cloth-cutting machines



Feb. 11, 1930. F. .1. CLARK ATTACHMENT FOR CLOTH CUTTTNG MACHINES FiledApril 28, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l A T m/m b s.

Feb. 11, 1930. F. J. CLARK 1,746,930

ATTACHMENT FOR CLOTH CUTTING MACHINES Filed April 28, 1927 2Sheets-Sheet A? if .7 6 K 5/52 1 @W l fw U I L. i I

A 770mm Y5.

Patented Feb. 11, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FREDERICK J. CLARK,OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO EASTMAN MACHINE COMPANY, OF BUFFALO, NYORK ATTACHMENT FOR CLOTH-CUTTING MACHINES Application filed. April 28,

This invention relates to attachments for cloth cutting machines wherebya machine of this kind may be used for cutting rolls or strips of clothor other material into shorter lengths.

The objects of this invention are to provide an attachment of this kindwhich forms a sub-base to which the base of the machine can be readilyapplied, and which requires no attaching devices on the machine itself;also to provide an attachment of this kind with a pivoted work holder orguide of improved construction; also to provide an attachment of thiskind with a gage which is so positioned with reference to the workholder as to prevent the gage from interfering with the cutting of thework; also to provide the work holder of the attachment with a guard ofimproved construction to prevent injury to the operator from the knifeof the cloth cutting machine; also to improve the construction ofattachments of this kind in other respects hereinafter specified.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the lower portion of a cloth cuttingmachine having an attachment embod ing my invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a sectional, plan view thereof on line 22, Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, side elevation similar to Fig. 1, but showingthe work guide in a different position.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the attachment removed from the machine, apart of the guard and of the work guide being shown in section.

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the attachment removed from the machine.

6 is a fragmentary, sectional eleva tion thereof on line 66, Fig. 4;.

Fig. is a fragmentary, sectional elevation thereof on line 7-7, Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 1s a transverse, sectional elevation thereof on line 88, Fig. 2.

1927. Serial No. 187,197.

My attachment may be applied to any suitable or desired type of clothcutting machine, regardless of whether the same is provided with arotary or reciprocating knife or cutting member, and consequently itwill be understood that the machine is merely shown in the drawings forthe purpose of illustrating how my invention may be applied to a clothcutting machine. The cloth cutting machine shown includes a rotary knifeor cutting member A driven from a motor B which is supported from a baseC by means of a standard D. This base is provided with the usual rollers0 journalled therein, which, duringthe ordinary use of the cloth cuttingmachine, are adapted to roll on a table or other cutting surface, thebase C passing under the layer of cloth to be cut. E represents theusual handle by means of which the machine is moved over a table orother surface when used in the ordinary manner, and F represents theusual guard adapted to be lowered into a position in front of the knifeA. Obviously all of these parts may be of any other suitable or desiredconstruction.

WVhen it is desired to use the machine for cutting short lengths from aroll or strip of material, such, for example, as is the case when it isdesired to cut comparatively short rolls of bandage cotton from a rollof a length corresponding to the width of sheet of material from whichthe roll is made, it is much more desirable to have the cloth cuttingmachine held in a stationary position and to feed the work toward andfrom the machine, since in such cases the work to be cut is much moreeasily moved about and handled than the cloth cutting machine.Consequently I have provided an attachment in the form of a subbase, towhich the base C of the cloth cutting machine may be clamped orotherwise secured, so that the machine will more readily remain in afixed position than it would if it were supported on the rollers 0. Onthis subbase is mounted a work holder or guide in which the work is heldwhile it is moved relatively to the cutting edge of the knife, and agage is preferably also mounted on the sub-base to guide the operator incutting the desired lengths from the work.

In the particular embodiment of the invention as shown in the drawings,my attach ment includes a sub-base or stand G which has a top portionadapted to receive the base C of the cloth cutting machine, this topportion being preferably provided with slightly raised edge portions 15,upon which the edge portions of the base C of the cloth cutting machineare adapted to rest, the portion 16 between the raised edge portions 15being slightly depressed so that the rollers c of the cloth cuttingmachine will be out of contact with the surface 16 so that the clothcutting machine will not tend to roll on the sub-base Gr. The sub-base Gis also provided with suitable stop portions adapted to be engaged byedges of the base C of a cloth cutting machine, for example, an upwardlyprojecting stop portion 17 is provided near the front of the sub-base,and similar stops 18 at opposite sides of the sub-base. Near the rear ofthe sub-base is provided at one side an upwardly extending lug 19 and atthe opposite side a similar lug 20, the inner faces of both of whichengage the edges of the base C of the cloth cutting machine to hold themachine on the sub-base and to guide the base of the machine into itscorrect relation to the subbase G. To the lug 19, in the particularconstruction shown, clamping bar 22 is pivoted, preferably on a screw orstud 23 laying a threaded engagement with the lug 19, and the oppositeend of the clamping bar 22 is provided with a recess or notch 24 intowhich the shank portion 25 of a thumb screw or bolt 26 is adapted toenter. Consequently it is merely necessary to swing the clamping bar 22over the base C of the cloth cutting -machine as clearly shown in Fig. 8and then tighten the thumb screw 26, whereupon the base of the clothcutting machine will be securely fastened to the sub-base. If desired apad or cushion 27 may be secured on-the under face of the clamping bar22 to prevent damage to the upper surface of the sub-base of the clothcutting machine and if necessary the clamping bar 22 may be providedwita notch, such as shown at 28, into which the rear portion of thestandard D of the cloth cutting machine may enter. Consequently in orderto attach the sub-base to the machine it is only necessary to place themachine on the sub-base in such a manner that the base C of the clothcutting machine enters be tween the steps or projections 17, 18, 19 and20, and then to swing the clamping plate or bar 22 around over the rearportion of the base C of the machine and clamp the srne in place. Thisarrangement has the adenage that itis unnecessary to do any machine workon the cloth cutting machine in order to secure the attachment thereto,so that the attachment may be easily applied to cloth cutting machinesby the users of the machines without requiring any skilled labor. Thesub base G of the attachment may be provided with the usual feet 29 forsupporting the sub-base on a table or other support. sub-base of otherconstruction can, of course, be employed, if desired.

In accordance with my invention a work guide H for supporting andguiding the work to be cut relatively to the knife of the machine, and agage I for determining the length of the parts to be cut from the workare mounted on the sub-base, and this may be done in any suitable ordesired manner. The work guide may be of any desired shape or form, thatshown in the drawings including a trough shaped work supporting portion32 of substantially angle or V-shaped cross section in which the work Xmay be placed lengthwise as shown in Fig. 5. The work holder is pivotedon the sub-base to swing parall l to the knife A and for this purposethe work holder, in the construction shown, is provided with arms 33 and34: extending 1aterally therefrom, the ends of these arms being providedwith bosses 35 and 36 which fit between lugs 37 and 38, the lug 3'?being preferably formed integral with the sub-base and extendingdownwardly therefrom and the lug 38 being formed on and extendingclownwardly from a bracket or extension 39, which may be secured to orformed integral with the sub-base. A bearing pin 10 is secured in thelugs 37 and 38 and passes through bearing apertures in the bosses 35 and36 on the ends of the arms 33 and 34, so that these arms can swing topermit the work holder to swing from the position in front of the knifeA as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 to a position past the knife as shown inFig. i so that the work held in the work holder is cut or severed by theknife A. In order to permit the necessary movement of the work holder,the projection or bracket 39 is provided with a slot or aperture 41 inwhich the arm 33 may move, the arm 34 being free to move about thebearing pin l0 since this arm is arranged beyond the end of the bracket39. The front and rear edges of the slot 41 may, if desired, beemployed, as shown in Fig. 7, as stops for limiting the swingingmovement of the arms 33 and 34; of the work holder and thus defining thefront and rear positions of the work holder.

In order to prevent injury to the operator of the machine, a guard isprovided on the work guide, which, in the particular form shown, is inthe nature of a ring 14, which may be formed integral with the workholder trough 32 and which is provided with a central aperture 45through which the work may pass. This ring is arranged approximately atthe end of the work holder and in close proximity to the knife A so thatthis ring holds the hand of the operator out ofcontact with the knifewhile feeding the work lengthwise in the trough shaped holder 32. Theguard ring 44 preferably projects forwardly to a considerable distancebeyond the front edge of the work holder as indicated at 46 so that whenthe work carrier is swung rearwardly, as during the cutting of the work,the projection 46 will keep the hand of the operator out of contact withthe knife A, so that the guard 44: protects the hands of the operatorduring the various positions of the work support.

The gage I is mounted on the sub-base on the side thereof opposite tothat on which the work support is mounted and may be of any suitable ordesired construction and preferably a bracket 50 is provided on thesub-base which may be either secured thereto or formed integraltherewith. The gage, in the particular construction shown, is mounted onthe upper face of the bracket and includes a scale or graduated bar 51having graduations 52 on the upper face thereof, these graduations beingpreferably so arranged as to start from the plane in the knife A.Consequently in order to use the gage it is only necessary to move thework to the left in Figs. 2 or 5 until the end of the work registerswith the desired graduations, whereupon the work is held by the hand ofthe operator against movement lengthwise of the work guide H, which isthen swung on its pivot, as shown in Fig. 3, to cause the knife to passthrough the work. If desired a stop may be provided on the gage bar orplate 51, which may be set in any desired position with reference to thegraduations thereon. This stop 53 may be of any suitable or desiredconstruction, that shown being slidable lengthwise of the gage bar andheld against disengagement therefrom by means of flanges 54 ex tendingbelow the edges of the gage bar 51 as shown in Fig. 3. The stop memberalso has an upwardly extending flange 55, against which the end of thework may be placed. 56 represents a set screw for locking the stop inany desired position on the gage bar 51, and stop pins 57 near the endsof the gage bar 51 prevent the removal of the stop member from the gagebar. A stop of any other kind may be provided, if desired, and the gagemay also be of other construction than that shown. By providing the stop55 in fixed elation with reference to the movable work supporting memberH, the flange 55 of the stop in no way interferes with the free cuttinof a portion from the work X, as would be the case if the stop movedwith the work member, in which case the work, after and during thecutting operation, would be crowded between the flange 55 of the stopand the knife and the standard D arranged at the side of the knife as isclearly shown in Fig. 2, which crowding would interfere with the propercutting of the work.

By means of the construction described any cloth cutting machine of thetype commonly used can be quickly mounted on the sub-base and clamped inplace thereon so that the cloth cutting machine will not tend to rollupon its rollers c, and the machine can then be efiiciently used forcutting lengths of material supported on the work guide H. Vvhen it isdesired to use the cloth cutting machine for cutting cloth in the usualway, it is merely necessary to release the thumb screw 26 and to swingthe clamping bar into its inoperative position as shown in Fig. 4whereupon the cloth cutting machine can be readily removed from thesub-base. Furthermore the gage and the work holder are securely mountedon the sub-base so that they are not apt to become lost or misplacedwhen not in use. It is also very desirable, although not an essentialfeature of this invention, to pivot the work holder on the sub-base, asshown, rather than to provide for a sliding movement of the work holder,since the free movement of a sliding connection is very apt to beinterfered with by the lint and other particles of the material which isbeing worked upon. The pivoted work holder is always free to swing aboutits pivot regardless of the amount of lint or other material which maysettle around the pivotal connection of the work guide with thesub-base. A sliding work holder may, however, be used with my improvedsub-base, if desired.

I claim as my invention v 1. An attachment for a cloth cutting machinehaving a base and a cutting member, said attachment including a sub-baseon which the base of the cloth cutting machine may rest, means forremovably securing said base on said sub-base, and a work guide mountedon said sub-base and movable relatively to the cutting member of thecloth cutting machine.

2. An attachment for a cloth cutting machine having a cutting knife anda base, said attachment including a sub-base to which the base of acloth cutting machine may be secured, and work holder pivotally mountedon said sub-base and adapted to swing from a position in front of saidknife to .a position past th front edge of said knife, in a planesubstantially parallel with the plane of said knife.

3. An attachment for a cloth cutting machine having a base provided withrollers by means of which said cloth cutting machine maybe moved over asurface, said attachment consisting of a sub-base upon which the base ofsaid cleth cutting machine may be secured, said sub-base having adepressed portion into which said rollers may enter to prevent therolling of said machine on said sub-base, and

means on said sub-base for guiding the work relatively to said clothcutting machine.

l. An attachment for a cloth cutting machine having a base provided withrollers by means of which said cloth cutting machine may be moved over asurface, said attachment consisting of a sub-base upon which the base ofsaid cloth cutting machine may be secured, said sub-base having adepressed portion into which said rollers may enter to prevent therolling of said machine on said sub-base, means for clamping the base ofthe cloth cutting machine to said sub-base, and means on said sub-basefor guiding the work relatively to said cloth cutting machine.

5. A sub-base for a cloth cutting machine having a base provided withrollers thereon, said sub-base being provided with raised portionsadapted to engage the base of a cloth cutting machine to support saidbase with said rollers out of contact with said sub-base, stops on saidsub-base adapted to engage the base of the cloth cutting machine forcorrectly positioning the base with reference to the sub-base, means onsaid sub-base for clamping the base of the cloth cutting machine to saidsub-base, and a work support mounted on said sub-base and movable withreference to said cloth cutting machine.

6. An attachment for a cloth cutting machine having a base and a knife,said attachment including a sub-base to which the base of the clothcutting machine may be secured, a work holder mounted on said base andadapted to receive the work to be cut and movable to feed the work tothe knife, and a guard mounted on and movable with the work holder andarranged in close proximity to said knife to prevent the hands of anoperator contacting with said knife during the manipulation of the workon said work holder.

.7. A sub-base for a cloth cutting machine having means for securing thebase of the cloth cutting machine thereto, a work holder mounted on saidsub-base, and adapted to move past said knife adjacent to one sidethereof, and a guard mounted on the end of the work holder adjacent tosaid knife and movable with said workholder and including a portionwhich extends adjacent to said knife while the work holder is in workreceiving position and another portion which extending adjacent to saidknife while the work holder is in the work receiving position and theother side of said ring shaped guard extending adjacent to said knifewhen the work holder has completed its movement past the cutting edge ofsaid knife.

9. An attachment for a cloth cutting machine having a base and a knife,said attachment including a sub-base upon which the base of the clothcutting machine may be secured, a substantially trough shaped workholder pivotally mounted on said sub-base to swing in a directionparallel to said knife from a work receiving position in front of saidknife to a position beyond the front edge of said knife, and a ringshaped guard arranged at the end of said work holder adjacent to saidknife and extending substantially parallel and adjacent to said knife,one ide of said ring being positioned to prevent the hand of an operatorcontacting with the knife when said holder is, in its work receivingposition and the other side of the ring being arranged adjacent to saidknife when said work holder has moved past said knife.

10. An attachment for a cloth cutting machine having a base and a knife,said attachment including sub-base, means for removably securing saidbase to said sub-base, a work guide arranged at one side of said subbaseand mounted thereon to move from a position in front of said knife to apositon in the rear of the front edge of said knife, and a gage mountedon the opposite side of said sub-base and with which the end of the workprojecting from said work guide may cooperate.

11. An attachment for a cloth cutting machine having a base and a knife,said attachment including a sub-base, means for removably securing saidbase to said sub-base, a work guide arranged at one side of said subbaseand mounted thereon to move from a position in front of said knife to aposition in the rear of the front edge of said knife, a gage mounted onthe opposite side of said sub-base and with which the end of the workprojecting from said work guide may cooperate, and a stop memberadjustably held on said gage and with which the end of the work to becut may be moved into engagement.

12. An attachment for a cloth cutting machine having a base and a knife,said attachment including a sub-base, means for removably securing saidbase to said sub-base, a work guidemovably mounted on one side of saidsub-base to move past the cutting edge of said knife, and a stop adjustably mounted on the other side of said sub-base in fixed relationthereto and with which the work on said work guide is adapted to engagefor determining the lengths to be cut from the work when the work guideis in a work receiving position and with which the work moves out ofengagement when advanced toward said knife.

13. An attachment for a cloth cutting machine having a base and a knife,said attachment including a sub-base, means for removably securing saidbase to said sub base, a Work guide movably mounted on one side of saidsub-base to move past the cutting edge of said knife, and gage meansmounted on the other side of said sub-base With which the material onsaid Work guide may cooperate.

FREDERICK J. CLARK.

